Another trade deadline passed Monday night as the calendar turned to September, and the biggest name to move at the postseason deadline was Jim Thome, who was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Thome, who has 564 career home runs, is back in the National League for the first time since he played for the Philles from 2003-2005, and he's not really an NL player anymore. He's played in just 28 innings in the field since signing with the White Sox before the 2006 season. Now he'll be a backup to James Loney at first base and the team's top pinch hitter off the bench.
The White Sox received Justin Fuller, a 24-year-old infielder who is hitting .254 in Class A, so it didn't cost the Dodgers much. And the White Sox have apparently thrown in the towel, conceding the AL Central to the Tigers and Twins. (The Rockies also claimed pitcher Jose Contreras off waivers.)
Thome, 39, who has 17 career postseason homers, will reunite with Manny Ramirez - they came up together in Cleveland's system and were part of a nucleus that won division titles in five consecutive years from 1995-1999 with the Indians. (And with the ex-Indians theory, perhaps the Dodgers are the NL favorite... one notable hole on Thome's Hall of Fame resume is a World Series title.) Thome's contract for $13 million annually expires after this season, so the Dodgers only owe the pro-rated last month on the contract. It will be interesting to see if there's a market for him in 2010.
The Dodgers also brought Jon Garland back to Los Angeles - he pitched for the Angels last season and also is a former White Sox standout - and that cost a little more on the back end than Thome. He's making $6.25 million this season with a mutual option at $10 million for next year. It would cost the Dodgers $2.5 million to buy out the option. Garland, 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA for Arizona, joins a rotation that's been hit hard by injuries in the last month.
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